A walk through Minnesota State Fair history in photos

Our State Fair is older than our state, and for many Minnesotans, trips to the fair came even before the age of memory, to be recounted by grandparents and aunties years later. So let’s take a stroll, or a dive, into fair nostalgia with these historical photos. Is it time to bring back the Flying Perch, or the propaganda phone?

Billy Snyder of Minneapolis, a star of the dirt track, prepares for a championship race at the State Fair on Aug. 15, 1941.

The Zacchini girls soar through the air after being shot from a cannon at a grandstand show at the fair on Aug. 28, 1948.

Fairgoers listen to transcriptions of the latest propaganda from Moscow at the Minneapolis Star and Tribune Korean War news center at the fair on Aug. 27, 1950.

Yvonne La Costa, queen of daredevils, takes a spin on the Flying Perch on Aug. 21, 1952.

Three young Minnesotans dropped in at the fair’s Weather-ball Room for a milk party on Aug. 25, 1955. Doris Krueger of Le Center, Joan Poganski of Sauk Rapids and Barbara Droppo of Thief River Falls were all in the running to be the 1955 Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

Machinery Hill hummed with engines, farmers and city folk eyeing the latest farm equipment in 1957. Tractors, backhoes, plows and riding mowers still draw fans young and old to that area of the fair for a chance to climb into a John Deere or inspect antique machines at the Old Iron Show.

Jo Anne Thibodeau, Billeye Goemann, Sue Larson, Melody Wolfe, Lori Durst and Donna Marie Karau jump for joy after winning high honors in the 4-H Dress Revues on Sept. 3, 1970. (Pete Hohn, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The crowd goes wild at a free show by Ricky Nelson on Aug. 27, 1957. (Earl Seubert, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

From a platform 90 feet high, Kevin Moller dove gracefully into a pool below that was only 10 feet deep. He was part of the Pepsi U.S. High Dive Show in 1987, which was performed three times daily at the fair. (Rick Sennott, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Fairgoers rode a mini-roller coaster called the Zyklon as it plunged down its track on the Midway on Aug. 28, 1988. (John Croft, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Tony Lebahn and his family rushed for cover during a morning downpour on Aug. 24, 1991. (Rita Reed, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Chuck Kite, Billy Davidson and Todd Akins get ready for the saddle bronc riding portion of the competition at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeo on Aug. 31, 2000. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Ron Atkins takes a break after hours at a Midway arcade on Aug. 24, 2004. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii, The Minnesota Star Tribune)